Update: This project is now finished. Final post is here. Want to do the same thing to yours? Check the LAYZOR website.

Previous articles:

• part 1: Introduction
• part 2: Scavenging the K40
• part 3: Final design and preparation
• part 4: Building the frame
• part 5: Custom parts
• part 6: Mechanical
• part 7: Electrical + first test run
• part 8: Acrylic
• part 9: This is the home stretch!

I planned for this article to be the last one about this project (for now), i.e. show you some finished pictures/video etc. But there were still too many little details I had to take care of, so I decided to quickly go over them here and dedicate a new & clutter-free post to the official announcement which I will probably post in a couple of days.

So without further ado, here’s me finally finishing this incredibly satisfying project:

I stuck the original K40 rubber feet on the bottom plate using simple double-sided tape.

Secondly, I received the closed loop Z belt I was talking about in the previous post. The closest length I could find to the theoretical 2220mm I needed was a 2270mm one.  So I designed a bracket for two idlers to get rid of the slack and get proper tension on the belt. Worked perfectly right from the very first iteration. The idler wheels were also salvaged from the original machine.

Placing the belt in-between the idlers as depicted above, and then turning the part 180° counterclockwise puts everything perfectly into place. Both idlers have about 5mm of possible travel so that belt tension can be optimized. Fyi, the belt is completely shielded by the bed frame above which means the laser can’t accidentally cut it in half.

I also revisited the tensioning system for the other (small) closed loop belt that is connected to the jog wheel. It consists of mainly salvaged parts of the base machine and a small custom bracket.

Next, I added a safety limit switch for the lid, so the laser can’t fire while the lid is open. The wires are simply connected to the original ‘laser enable’ pins of the power supply. I used hot-glue to attach the switch because I know from experience that they are very brittle when you overtighten a screw on them. It would probably be easiest to glue it on slightly too low and then use little pieces of tape on the lid to shim your way down right until you get perfect button presses. In my case I got lucky the first time around and no extra shimming was needed.

Last but not least, the cherry on top of the cake: adding the sticker as the ultimate finishing touch! This marks the end of this amazing journey. Can’t express how excited that makes me!

Now that my original vision of the LAYZOR is completely realized, I’m already looking at potential upgrades. An obvious one off course is air assist, which I tested on a mother’s day card I made.